Before the serious meeting where the other directors gathered, Carisia was having a private talk with Orthes.
“Bodies in a comatose state have been placed in preservation capsules, and the corpses of Sikton and Dimedes were sent to Divius’s surgical room for detailed analysis…”
Tap, tap, tap. Carisia’s index finger was drumming on the armrest of her chair.
“What’s the matter?”
“I understand the other parts, but why are we preserving the comatose followers of the Bacchus cult?”
“As I mentioned, it’s a measure to recruit the child we found locally. They show great talent.”
“You said they have a talent for dark magic, right?”
Orthes nodded. He already knew that Carisia was watching the conversation with Kine through the screen.
“She would probably stand out even if sent to Elysion right now.”
“What about divine power? If they grew up in the Bacchus cult, they must have some talent, right?”
“That’s going to be difficult. The child witnessed their friends being betrayed and killed. To have divine power, faith is needed, and it’ll be hard to restore belief in Bacchus.”
Orthes’s answer flowed smoothly.
Carisia pouted. Does he enjoy gathering people with magical talent?
“Isn’t that more like recruitment?”
“Pardon?”
“Listening to you, it sounds like some devilish temptation. That kid looked like she was about to faint.”
“Not at all.”
With a casual shrug, Orthes continued with a rather slick excuse.
“I simply told the child what a struggle it is to take revenge on such a colossal entity. Surely you understand that, boss.”
That’s indisputable. Even Carisia, confident in her magical talent, would be at a disadvantage when fighting against the Ten Towers.
That’s why she went through the hassle of creating and running this company, to overcome that gap.
“I understand the situation. I have given you full authority regarding the divine investigation and our goals, so do as you see fit.”
Orthes bowed deeply. Carisia waved her hand, signaling that it wasn’t necessary, and muttered quietly.
“Let’s do the damage and results report in an hour. Please.”
“Yes, understood.”
Now, once she heads down to the meeting room, everything will surely be thoroughly prepared as usual. From gathering the directors to summoning external figures like Kaicle and Geryon. Everything will be perfect.
Haaa…
Carisia stretched as she thought.
If you prepared the comatose followers of the Bacchus cult to bind Kine, what did you prepare to bind me?
What would it take to bind you?
*
I surveyed the participants in the meeting. Neuro subtly indicated he was too tired to attend.
Anyway, whether it was the hunting of Dimedes or exploring the Bacchus cult’s base, I had already accompanied those, so I could handle the field report alone. I casually told him to take a break since he worked hard.
Geryon looked puzzled as to why he was called here. It was orchestrated to make it seem that Dimedes died in the battle at the Mage Towers of Etna City.
Kaicle’s expression was filled with anticipation. He rushed here as he said he had secured artifacts from the cult.
We all sat according to our ranks and waited. From afar, I could hear the clop, clop of footsteps.
I gauged the time and opened the door. Carisia stood right in front of me.
I followed her into the meeting room.
Carisia, seated at the most prestigious position, began to speak.
“Now then, let’s start the results report for the investigation of the Bacchus cult.”
*
“First, there’s an important matter to address. The death of former director Dimedes has been confirmed.”
The news delivered by Orthes was shocking from the very first word.
“Former Director Dimedes, along with 30 beast tamers and 120 magical beasts, has been wiped out. The circumstances, the condition of the bodies, and the handling of the beast by-products are summarized in the next section of the report.”
The half-spirit Meconion showed little interest in such a dull meeting. She pursued a life of intense pleasure rather than beatings, destruction, and killing.
Meconion was participating in the meeting willingly because she wanted to see the items from the Bacchus cult, which worshipped the god of pleasure and revelry.
When the briefing on the cause of Dimedes’ death concluded and suggestions arose to stage it as though Geryon had killed him, Meconion raised her hand.
“Yes, Meconion Director.”
“So, what did you bring? Is there anything that would be helpful for my work?”
“Not nothing, but…”
Orthes manipulated a holographic display. A few bunches of grapes and some seeds appeared.
“These are the grape varieties cultivated by their cult. Interestingly, they grow well even underground with little light.”
“Is there… any other artifact infused with divine power?”
Kaicle, perched cautiously on a specially large chair prepared for him, asked slowly.
“There are a few, but even the sacred robes worn by their leader and the ceremonial golden goblets did not retain such strong powers.”
“At least it’s better than nothing.” Dimedes mumbled as he was summoned in the midst of dissecting.
His comment stemmed from the frustration of having seen too many trinkets claimed to be infused with divine power while working at Blasphemia.
“Let’s request research on extracting divine power from the Bacchus artifacts.”
With Orthes’s command, Kaicle nodded.
What we lost during the exploration of the Bacchus cult were Dimedes and his organization. What we gained was a handful of artifacts imbued with divine power.
“That’s quite a loss…”
Arabella was the first among the directors to calculate the costs. The other directors implicitly agreed with her expression. Who would have thought that while investigating a crumbling cult, a piece of Hydra Corporation would completely vanish?
Though the unexpected outcome resulted from coincidence, the perceived risk of the work called ‘divine investigation’ shot up rapidly.
“First,”
Carisia’s golden eyes shone brightly.
“I will leave the seat vacant for the board meeting. In future divine investigation duties, any staffing will require the approval of the head of the Divine Investigation Office.”
With that, the meeting was roughly concluded. Dimedes was dead, and his death would be disguised as a clash with Geryon’s side. The artifacts imbued with divine power would be examined by Kaicle.
The byproducts from Dimedes’ beasts and chimeras are currently being processed at the Hunter’s Association. Bacchus’s grapevines would be gifted to Meconion’s garden.
Just when Carisia was about to declare the end of the meeting, an unexpected comment arose.
“And I plan to send the survivors of the Bacchus cult as corporate scholarship students to Hydra Corporation in Elysion.”
*
Elysion. The paradise of mages.
If you draw a pentagon with the locations of the Ten Towers as vertices, it locates precisely at the center of them.
Known as the place where the Mage King ascended, Elysion is akin to a holy land for mages. It is the source of the purest mana in the world, constantly flowing and connected to the Ether Network of the Ten Towers, where the magical news gathers the fastest.
Situated right in the center of the Ten Commandments, the air is filled with mana that is not biased towards any property, allowing Elysion to become the hub for various magical research.
In precise magical experiments or large-scale testing, errors due to external mana’s property biases can be a frustrating variable to calculate.
However, Elysion is a place filled with mana that is theoretically uniform in all properties.
Thanks to this quality, Elysion naturally became the venue for major events and examinations requiring a certain scale and authority, like the Mage Tower licensing reviews or Apex Towers entrance exams. Events where the properties of magic are prominent, like fire magic contests or regular conferences on eternal snow, are exceptions.
As mages flocked to this destination, key facilities that impacted numerous Mage Towers, like central exchanges and magical patent offices, were constructed in Elysion.
And among those facilities, the most noteworthy place for the Mage Towers is.
“I plan to write a recommendation letter for admission to the Museion Academy.”
Museion Academy. An elite cradle where admission is strictly by recommendation. Only with a recommendation from a Mage Tower can one apply for the entrance exam of any magical educational institution.
Grrrr…
A low growl escaped the mouth of Tarros, the representative of the mutants from Etna City. The half-dragon giant, covered in bronze scales, instantly chilled the atmosphere with his sigh.
“Director Tarros, please speak up.”
Carisia granted permission to speak. The post-human half-dragon Tarros seemed to struggle to articulate his words, growling several times to adjust his voice. Finally, he slowly opened his mouth.
“The admission timing of Museion—”
“Are you saying it has already passed?” Tarros nodded slowly in affirmation.
Orthes was somewhat surprised that Tarros had the knowledge to keep track of school admission schedules.
‘So it wasn’t a practical question about how to hide divine power.’
He initially thought Tarros showed no interest besides caring for the mutated individuals.
‘Could it be he has a child?’
In the original work, he was not described much beyond the image of a powerful enemy, so this unexpected comment was rather fascinating.
“Indeed, the regular admission date for Museion has already passed. However, students who have received recommendations from sufficiently reputable Mage Towers can take the transfer exams. They are held about once every three months, and since this month is the month of flames… it will occur next month, during the month of ice.”
Suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding, Arabella asked.
“Reputable… what?”
“Yes, precisely.”
Orthes smiled.
“As long as you accumulate results sufficient to pass the paperwork for the Mage Tower licensing review, you’ll be fine. For a while, directors who haven’t been assigned duties in the Divine Investigation Office should focus on capturing wanted criminals from among the Mage Towers. It should be easier than accumulating magical research results.”
*
Dimedes couldn’t catch a criminal and ended up dead, making it hard to pass the paperwork for Mage Tower licensing review?
Can’t we just make excuses and have the other directors do it?
I finally felt joy in being able to delegate work and take a short break.
*
The gathered directors interpreted Orthes’s smile in another way.
With Dimedes’s sudden death, Orthes was declaring, “Since I am disappointed in your ‘competence,’ I will handle the divine investigation alone.”
Arabella couldn’t help but admire Orthes’s perfectionism.
‘Look at him trying to take on everything related to the boss…’
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